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The view looking east from Broad and Third streets at 7:15 a.m. on Sunday should include the
first streaks of dawn or perhaps just the breath and backside of one of the 18,000 participants in
the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon.

Before the 34th annual marathon begins at 7:30, however, thoughts and hearts of
everyone from the contenders to the first-timers already will have entered racing mode.

“That’s probably when my nerves are at their worst — 10 or 15 minutes before the
race,” said Matt Folk, who won the men’s marathon in 2009 and 2011. “You know that it’s coming. You
have to stay loose and be ready to go as soon as the (horn) goes off.”

Folk, 37, is one of 148 elite runners participating in the half or full marathon
this year. He has a reserved place among the marathoners near the front of the shoulder-to-shoulder
pack that will stretch west beyond High Street.

“That’s one advantage that we get,” Folk said. “We can walk around. Most of the
other runners are locked in their corrals. They have to stand still and hold their spot. It’s hard
to stay loose in the corral.”

The 18,000 spots in this year’s race filled in record time for the marathon
(7,000) and the half marathon (11,000). Folk, who lives in Perrysburg, Ohio, has run six marathons
and one half marathon in Columbus since 2001. He finished fourth in the marathon last year.

“They do a great job with the race,” Folk said. “The course is flat, and the
weather pretty much has been ideal.”

Although he can’t control the weather, race director Darris Blackford can
guarantee a welcoming staff and the flat, Columbus course to competitors, whether they are trying
to win prize money or just be fulfilled by completing the race.

“We’ve got some fast people and we’ve got people who are just looking to get
their money’s worth,” he said. “And I think our connection with Children’s Hospital is on a lot of
people’s bucket list of things to do.”

Real racing does happen. The elite field this year has drawn an uptick in
runners from Ethiopia (36) and Kenya (25) for the marathon and half marathon.

Notably on a national and international level, the Competitor Group Inc., which
runs the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon and marathon series, stopped giving appearance fees and travel
expenses to elite runners last month. That might have increased the number of Kenyans and
Ethiopians coming to Columbus, Blackford said. He doesn’t think it will jeopardize the men’s
marathon record of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds, set by Sweden’s Tommy Perrson in the inaugural
race in 1980.

Scott Robinson, an agent for the AmeriKenyan Running Club in Santa Fe, N.M.,
sent four runners to Columbus. The $5,000 and $3,000 top prizes for the marathon and half marathon,
respectively, were only part of the reason.

“If you come in and run a good time against a good field, it will elevate your
performance rating and maybe open the door to another event,” Robinson said. “But some guys are
just trying to make a living and help their family members. That’s the goal.”

The race, Folk said, is the thing.

“The big thing is the challenge,” he said. “You never know for sure how it’s
going to go that day. The last six or eight miles, everything might kick in. Or you may have to
walk a little bit over those last few miles.”